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Expectations vs. Reality: College Edition

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UC Riverside chapter.

Hollywood does a really good job of glamorizing the life of a twenty-something in college. While college definitely has the potential of becoming akin to Project X, it is definitely not an average day in the life of a college student.  With the academic school year coming to a close, I think it’s time to confront the reality of college life instead of filling our heads with all of these expectations.

Roommates

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In high school, my AP Government teacher said that the beginning of freshman year is when people love their roommates.  She also said that by the end of freshman year, we would hate them and sometimes you do end up hating them.

Parties

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College parties are fun. No doubt. But they are rarely ever as epic as in the movies. You know what was the biggest let down of my college experience? Foam parties. If you’re going to a foam party, heed this warning: don’t go unless you plan on getting wasted.  If you think too hard about what’s actually going on when the foam melts at a foam party. . . it’s gross. Don’t do it.

8 AMs

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The biggest difference between waking up at 8 AM to go to class in high school and waking up at 8 AM to go to class in college is really simple: your mother. Moms don’t have a snooze button. If you think that taking an 8 AM in college is anything like it was in high school, you are sadly mistaken.

Studying

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Studying is yet another thing that will not be the same in college than in high school. Studying in college requires way more time and commitment than studying in high school. It’s also unrealistic to think that you might actually stick to some sort of study schedule. It’s not going to happen.

If there’s anything that will 100% be true of college, it’s that it will be the best years of your life. It goes way faster than you think!

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Jessica Diesta

UC Riverside

I love yoga, yummy food, and ginger cats. I also run an online store for curated vintage with my best friend (http://caffeinatedflowers.storenvy.com/)
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UC Riverside

UC Riverside